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The (HHCF)is the worlds first non-profit fusing music, chess and martial arts to promote unity, strategy and non-violence. The HHCF hosts celebrity chess events where underserved youth play chess for educational scholarships and engage cultural icons from various backgrounds. By blending logic and art we pave new paths to greatness for American youth.Follow us @hiphopchess on twitter!

Highs and Lows for HHCF in SF

Raheem Payton , 18, senior at John O'Connell High School, sits for a Martin Luther King "I have a dream," portrait in his home on Tuesday January 12, 2010 in San Francisco, Calif. "There is still a little bit of racism. It not just black and white people it's all races. To change it we all have to have a center connection to know that we all are all the same. We are all people. We are all human." "To keep Dr. King's dream alive I believe we all need to be connected as one. We all need to realize that we are the same people." "We're no different from each other. We all bleed the same blood.... We all have struggles. We all strive to be great. No one is perfect but things can change over time. My dream for the world is that we come to a consensus and end up on one note." "We need to find in ourselves how to deal with everybody... Everything starts with yourself. If you don't have inner peace you won't that outer peace.

Sadly, in the same issue of the paper, there was THIS:

Gang talk: A 13-year-old suspected gang was picked up by police last week after he allegedly brandished a gun inside the lobby of San Francisco's John O'Connell High School, where he and three others had gone to confront a rival gang member.
The next day, one of the intruders reportedly showed up again looking for trouble, but when he was spotted by officers, he took off.
Cops later found the 13-year-old who had brandished the gun at Horace Mann Middle School, where he's a student. He was taken into custody.
According to police, the boy confessed to having a loaded pistol, and he admitted going to O'Connell to confront a rival gang member.
"I am grateful that no one was harmed in this incident, and we are continuing to review our procedures to provide a safe learning environment for all of our students," Principal Richard Dubar wrote in an e-mail to teachers and staff.
The cops and O'Connell administrators haven't always seen eye to eye in dealing with gang issues, but by all accounts everyone did their part to avert a disaster this time

John O'Connell is a great school. Like many, it does not have the money it needs to support its students. Nevertheless, many teachers, faculty and staff work hard to give these kids a shot a being great. The HHCF continues to do all we can to help kids of all backgrounds from underserved areas. Every kid is not like Raheem. Sadly, some, like the young intruder to our school are far astray. But we will not stop our commitment to uplifting the youth.